Suspect charged with robbery, arson

A suspect who allegedly used a T-shirt to cover his face during a Lincoln County store robbery, which prompted a manhunt and the suspect’s later surrender to authorities, has been formally charged with three felony counts.

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By Kim Morava

The Shawnee News-Star

By Kim Morava

Posted Mar. 27, 2013 at 9:00 AM

By Kim Morava

Posted Mar. 27, 2013 at 9:00 AM

A suspect who allegedly used a T-shirt to cover his face during a Lincoln County store robbery, which prompted a manhunt and the suspect’s later surrender to authorities, has been formally charged with three felony counts.

Clint Charles Johnson, 26, of Stroud, is charged in Lincoln County District Court with first-degree robbery, possession of a stolen vehicle and third-degree arson.

Johnson, jailed on a $30,000 bond, is scheduled for another court appearance next week.

Lincoln County Sheriff Charlie Dougherty said this case first unfolded when the clerk at B&B General Store in Kendrick reported she was robbed on March 18.

She said the suspect, wearing a shirt over his face and covering everything but his eyes, came in and reached over to open her cash register drawer.

“At first, she thought it was a joke so she reached up and pulled the shirt off his face,” Dougherty said. The suspect, while cursing back, told her it wasn’t a joke and demanded money, the sheriff said, then grabbed the cash register and threw it to the ground.

After a few attempts to open it himself, the suspect allegedly picked the register back up and forced the clerk to open it, then fled with about $300 cash and five packs of cigarettes, the sheriff said.

The suspect drove off in a green Dodge pickup. Deputies responded to the area, with Dougherty finding the ditched pickup within about 15 minutes of the initial call.

The truck, which broke down, was left to burn, he said, although the fire burned itself out in the cab.

Deputies began searching the area and sought out the registered owner of the truck in Cushing. Further inquiries revealed that the owner’s sister left the keys in the truck and it was missing from her place of employment.

The sheriff, who called a manhunt for the area where the truck was found, said an airplane from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol responded for air support as deputies used dogs. Man trackers from the district attorney’s task force also were utilized as about 20 laws enforcement officers from Lincoln County’s special operations team converged to search a five-mile radius.

When they were unable to locate anything, the sheriff called off the search.

Hours later, deputies received a phone call from a residence on 840 Road, located about one mile south of the manhunt area, where the homeowner reported a man approached her home and said he needed help.

“He said he had stolen a truck in Cushing and wanted to turn himself in,” Dougherty said, so deputies responded.

“He gave up without incident — he was sitting on the front porch with his hands in the air when deputies arrived.”